Slaying victim's family sues Harvey, cop

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

The family of a 23-year-old man who was shot to death last year in South Holland filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Harvey, alleging that police had confiscated the handgun that would later be used in the shooting but then allowed it back onto the street.

Martell Edwards was killed April 28 by an assailant who used a .45-caliber Remington semiautomatic handgun, according to the lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court.

Harvey police had confiscated the same gun in October 2005, when they arrested Anthony Reynolds for pointing the gun at two police officers, the lawsuit said.

But after a meeting with Harvey officials, Detective Hollis Dorrough "returned the semiautomatic weapon to Reynolds' stepfather," the lawsuit claims.

The lawsuit names the City of Harvey and Dorrough as defendants. It seeks unspecified damages.

Harvey officials could not be reached Tuesday for comment.

Earlier this month, a jury found Reynolds guilty of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and other charges in the 2005 incident. He has been charged with murder in the killing of Edwards. That case is pending.